The ASPPH Harrison C. Spencer Award for Outstanding Community Service was established to honor the legacy of Dr. Harrison C. Spencer, who demonstrated a lifelong commitment to social justice and community engagement to address the social determinants of health.
This is the only ASPPH award that recognizes an institution, rather than an individual—celebrating schools and programs that embody sustained excellence in collaborative community service.
Criteria for Award
Programs nominated for this award should demonstrate some or all of the following:
- Visionary leadership that promotes excellence in public health, improves population health outcomes, and addresses the diverse needs of communities
- Clear alignment with the institution’s mission and core values related to community engagement and service
- Active participation of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and public health professionals in service initiatives that advance institutional and community goals
- Innovative, scholarly, and evidence-based programs that build authentic, long-term partnerships with communities to address pressing health concerns
- The creation, application, and integration of new knowledge that informs public health practice and contributes to community well-being
- Public health scholarship that includes research, synthesis, and translation with real-world impact
- Strategic leadership and collaboration in leveraging institutional and community assets to prevent disease, promote health, and respond to emerging challenges
- Thoughtful engagement of institutional expertise to meet educational, economic, and health-related needs identified by the community
Eligibility
- Nominees must be current ASPPH-member, CEPH-accredited schools or programs of public health
- Institutions may not have previously received this award.
- Past finalists are eligible to reapply after two years.
Required Materials
Nominations may be submitted by any public health professional inside or outside the nominee institution. Self-nominations are strongly encouraged.
Each nomination must include:
- Contact information for both the nominee institution and the nominator
- A brief overview statement (max. 800 words) introducing the program(s) and outlining why the institution merits consideration
- A detailed narrative (max. 6 pages) describing:
- The institution’s sustained commitment to community service
- Descriptions of community-based programs, including their development, structure, outcomes, and institutional/community impact
- Involvement of faculty, staff, students, and alumni
- How these efforts are supported and sustained by the institution
- Two letters of support from external partners (preferably community-based organizations) detailing the program’s impact
Award Details
$5,000 cash prize, intended for distribution to one or more community partners
Complimentary registration for the ASPPH Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon
Formal recognition at the Awards Ceremony
Commemorative award trophy
Review & Selection
Nominations are reviewed by a selection committee of the ASPPH Executive Board. The committee will identify two finalists, followed by site visits conducted by ASPPH leadership to learn more about each institution’s programs in depth.
Final deliberations will determine the award recipient based on demonstrated impact, sustainability, and institutional commitment to community service.
Past Winners
2024
East Tennessee State University College of Public Health
2024
The University of Memphis School of Public Health
2023
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health
2022
University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences
2021
CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy
2020
National Taiwan University College of Public Health and University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health
2020
The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health
2019
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2018
Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health